BBC News, 24 Jan 08

Bill Gates has challenged companies to engage in "creative capitalism" that delivers profits and helps the poor.

This "capitalism for the 21st century" had to improve the lives of those who did not benefit from market forces.

GreenBiz.com, 26 November 2007 - A handful of global food companies has joined the Global Reporting Initiative to develop sustainability indicators specific to the food processing industry.

Nestle, Tyson Foods, Bunge and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters are the first members to join the GRI working group.

Planet Retail 1 Aug 07

The corporate affairs director of Carrefour Indonesia, Irawan D. Kadarman, yesterday said that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will soon be able to place their goods on the retailer's shelves without having to pay a listing fee, with the retailer agreeing to provide access for SMEs as part of its CSR programme. "We will select SMEs with a regular supply capability to sell products that are in line with the tastes of our customers." Carrefour will only take the margin between the supplier price and the retail price as its profit, according to Mr Irawan, adding that four product categories would be eligible for the programme; grocery, fresh food (vegetables, fish), household equipment and textiles.

Integrating small producers into the supply chain of large companies is not always easy. A pilot programme in Ecuador provides an example of how ‘inclusive business' can be done.

The 56 members of the Catarama cocoa growers' association are positioned at one end of an "inclusive business" pilot scheme. At the other end is Universal Sweets. Part of the Nobis consortium, Ecuador's second largest industrial group, the confectionary company produces chocolate, cocoa powder, cocoa liquors and consumer cocoas.

The two came together through the Alliance for Inclusive Business, an experimental project being run by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and SNV, the Netherlands development organisation.

Financial Times March 28 2007. Story by Elizabeth Rigby

Sir Terry Leahy on Wednesday kicked off the inaugural World Retail Congress in Barcelona by calling on politicians in emerging economies to liberalise their markets more quickly, as he acknowledged that the rise of India and China were transforming the retail industry.

The chief executive of Tesco, the world's fifth-biggest grocer, insisted in a speech that globalisation was a "democratising force, because it puts more choices in the hands of the many" and called on governments to embrace global chains.

January 3rd, 2007

Groupe Danone's board of directors will be asking shareholders attending the next general meeting to set up a fund to support businesses that aim to be profitable but make social and societal goals rather than earnings their first priority.

Authors: Moustier, P. (et al.)
Produced by: International Finance Corporation (IFC) (2005)
 
The study assesses conditions for an increased involvement of the poor in the food value chains driven by supermarkets and other value-adding outlets. The trends of the different distribution chains were analysed through the gathering of secondary data. Surveys on poor consumers' access to different retailing points were made in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Moc Chau, as well as comparison of prices between the different points of sale in these cities. Four case studies investigated poor farmers' and traders' participation in distribution value chains.

Planet Retail   14 September 2006

The Thai government yesterday failed to convince large store chains to curb their store expansion plans. The signature of a pact presented by the Commerce Ministry to 15 retailers, including Tesco Lotus, Carrefour and Casino owned Big C, has had to be postponed to next Wednesday. "We summoned store operators to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) today, but they have not responded to our request because several companies, especially Tesco, said they did not know what was in the MoU," Deputy Commerce Minister Preecha Laohapongchana told reporters. "We'll give them a week to study it and if they still decline to sign, we will issue a ministerial regulation to make them comply in two weeks."

In Thailand, the Commerce Ministry has established a special committee, which met yesterday for the first time, to establish new rules, principles and guidelines for the expansion of retailers. The ministry plans to announce its results in 30 days. Karun Kittisataporn, permanent secretary for the commerce ministry, has also threatened hefty fines or even prison sentences for big retailers who mistreat their suppliers. According to ministry guidelines unveiled earlier in the week, retailers are prohibited from "unfair practices" such as selling products below cost, asking suppliers for deep discounts, demanding higher "introduction fees" for new products, and returning products without valid reason. Violators may be fined up to THB6 million (USD160,000), or jailed for up to three years.